An apt definition of a sea monster would be something of a slimy, scaly, water-spouting serpent, hell-set on dragging sailors to Davey-Jones’ locker. A creature that swallows ships whole, and fearsome enough to make even Captain Jack Sparrow shiver his timbers.

But it would appear that here in Dorset, we are a slightly more flexible with the term “monster.” Local legends tell of a beast called the “Shapwick Monster”. The story goes that villagers of Shapwick discovered a strange creature that they had never seen before. The villagers called upon an elder to solve the mystery as to what lay before their eyes, and the response he gave was “a monster.”

A slight exaggeration because the “monster” was actually – a crab. It was just that no one had ever seen one before.

But if the new crab at Weymouth Sea Life Park scuttled its way into Shapwick – the definition of “monster” would be bang on.

They call him “Crab Kong”, a beast eight feet wide, weighing 15kg and with claw spam that could capture a car. The giant Japanese Spider Crab will be on show at the Weymouth Sea Life Park until Easter, when he will be transferred to a park in Munich.

Fishermen in Suruga Bay, south west of Tokyo, caught the crab, and then contacted Sea Life Biologist Robin James, who said: “Getting in an animal as impressive as Crab Kong is the aquarium equivalent of signing Ronaldo.”

But, this is not the first aquatic celebrity at Weymouth Sea Life Park. During the last World cup a common octopus born at the aquarium made news by predicting the winners of Germany’s matches by his oracle feeding behaviour.

“Crab Kong” has attracted so much attention because he is biggest Japanese Spider Crab in captivity. Biologists suggest that he is around 40 years old, what’s more he’s still growing.

Although the giant crab wasn’t found in Dorset waters, it looks like we can rear some pretty beastly crabs too. Back in 2008 it was reported that two giant 50-year-old crabs were caught off Portland Harbour and Lyme Bay. Douglas Lanfear who ran the boat out to Lymbe Bay said: “The claws were absolutely huge – as big as my hands – and if you got your finger caught, it would take it off.”

As the saying goes, there must be something in the water - because two years ago it was enough to lure tropical Columbus Crabs across the Atlantic to our shores. Dorset Wildlife Trust reported that this journey was due to strong winds. But go back 150 million years ago, and you would have found much bigger creatures lurking in out waters. The fossilised skull of a Pilosaur was found two years ago along the Jurassic Coast. The beast had an immensely powerful jaw filled with razor sharp teeth and would have been over 16 metres in length.

“Crab Kong” may have a bit of growing to do to catch up with the Pilosaur, but still proves to be more of a monster than the misinterpreted crab of Shapwick.